Movie Review - Tara Mira: Caste away this pair!

Gurnaaz Kaur

A love story of a Punjabi jatt and a girl from another caste (a migrant from UP), this one has the predictable troubles, which unfold because in the initial days of their bond, Tara (Ranjit Bawa) mistakes Mira (Nazia Hussain), as a Punjabi. It’s much later in their love that he finds out that she belongs to a caste his father (Yograj Singh) abhors. Thus, these lovebirds have a herculean task of getting an approval for their relationship by Tara’s father. 

Yograj is compared to Hitler when it comes to getting associated with another caste, that too the migrants from UP and Bihar. Now, this sets the plot for the situational comedy. The couple resolves to make Mira’s family pretend to be jatts. Series of lies, drama to cover them, fear of being caught and, of course, the Hitler father’s rigid thought process become the narrative. The journey is packed with comedy punches, some twists and turns.

The film also shows the general repugnance of Punjabis towards migrants living in the state. It’s for this discrimination that Mira’s father too objects to the marriage. So, whether they get married or not becomes the climax, which is the weakest part of the story. The transitions from one occasion to another, between different moods and spaces are poor, although the sets and overall cinematography fair well.

Ranjit Bawa and Nazia Hussain share screen space for the first time, and their chemistry is not all that sizzling. For her debut, Nazia has done a decent job and seems comfortable in front of the camera. 

With Tara Mira, Guru Randhawa dons the hat of a producer. Understandably, one expects the music of the movie to be outstanding. On the contrary, it does not connect the strings, other than the closing number where we see Guru next to the credit roll. It has groovy beats and can make you shake a leg. If that compensates!

In the supporting cast, Sudesh Lehri, Rajiv Thakur, Anita Devgan, Shawinder Mahal and Ashok Pathak hold the plot well and give enough support to the lead pair. Tara Mira does have a story but has equal weak links. Watch it if you are a sucker for comedy or a fan of Ranjit Bawa.

Gurnaaz@tribunemail.com